Whatever happened to the "safe havens"? Imposing state boundaries between the Sudanese plains and the Ethiopian highlands

Journal article

The new state frontier between Sudan and South Sudan has thrown into relief the enormous problems that modern boundary-making can create. This article first sketches some of the recent consequences of the civil war and the new frontier for local peoples of the Blue Nile, many of whom have now sought refuge in South Sudan as an alternative to Ethiopia. It is then shown that political and social relations in the mountainous borderland between Sudan and Ethiopia have long been in creative flux. From antiquity, local peoples have played one side off against another, pursued trade while retaining some autonomy, and found allies and safe refuge when necessary. The modern state aims to impose clarity along its borders, but from the nineteenth century onwards, examples from this borderland show how destructive this can be. The lessons are now being learned afresh in the Blue Nile and adjacent areas of Upper Nile.

Authors: James, W

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Anthropological Society of Oxford
• Journal: Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford Online
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 105-124
• Publication date: 2013-01-01
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-mzaj8mmxk
• ISSN: 2040-1876
• Language: English
• Keywords: JASO